TV Boy To Cameraman
by Super Robot Malinarlen
Summary: Though they didn't say anything more to each other, they knew exactly where they wanted to go. A robot's coming of age story. Mamimi x Canti
1. Ladybird Girl

"Hey," he asked; "Why do they call it K.O. if it's easier to say knock out?"

"Probably the syllables," Mamimi humored him. "Naku outoh."

"Ah." The man turned away, resting his hands on his large knees. Struggling to fit comfortably in the airplane seat, he kept moving around, squirming and sweating. "So, uh. Any tips you have for me? So I don't offend anyone?"

"Don't worry too much," she said. "You're a foreigner." She looked out the window, he hair sliding over her ears. "So you'll be forgiven easily."

Outside the window, the airplane's wing raced past and the engine screamed higher and higher. At last, the ground started dropping away.

_Here in America,_ she thought; _I didn't find anything._ Raising her old camera, she tilted it and snapped a shot.

* * *

><p><em>Mabase. Though the rubble has been cleared, everything still looks the same. It looks like that, but I think everyone has moved on and forgotten. Like it was all just a bad rumor.<em> Slinging her camera case over her beat up messenger bag, Mamimi trudged down that familiar bridge._ And though I moved on, too, I can't help but feel left behind._

Out from her bag, a wah-ing guitar cried out, wailing slowly before looping. Shuffling a hand into her bag, she slid her phone open. "Hello?" she asked.

"Mamimi," a concerned woman exclaimed; "You didn't tell me you were leaving for Japan."

"I'm there," Mamimi answered.

"WHAT?" the woman panicked. "Ah! This is because of that confest, isn't it? I understand how important it is to you, but you have an obligation! A legal contract! And you have yet to send me the portfolio for that Indonesian water buffalo shoot–"

"–Cameraman," Mamimi interrupted, correcting her; "Cameraman Confest. Oh. And you'll get that thing later. I'll be at my summer home for now, though, freelancing." She slowly brought the phone away from her ear. "Don't try to find it, chief. There's no address." She closed her phone, unaware of the woman's hysterical screaming on the other line. Looking up at the orange sky, Mamimi dropped her arms at her sides, breathing in the familiar humidity. _Summer. I don't know if this is a good feeling or a bad one._

* * *

><p>"Oooh? Naota didn't let you know?" his father questioned her patronizingly. "He left for University. He got scholarships, recommendation letters, an apartment, a life–" Suddenly, the man became crazed; "–his own college slice-of-life with a harem of Akamatsu-sensei proportions to boot– why– that boy left his dear father behind just so he could continue doing all these impossible things! Upsetting and reminding–"<p>

Carrying a basket of laundry, Canti walked by. Judging by the clean condition of the Nandaba household, it appeared that he had gotten even better at such chores.

"Hey, Lord Canti," Mamimi greeted the robot, ignoring Kamon's rambling. "Long time no see."

Rotating his head, slightly, Canti looked at her and froze, trying to remember who she was. His cooling fan even kicked on. Finally, his screen blushed in embarrassment and he clumsily dropped the basket, panicking and bending down– quickly throwing clothes back in.

"You haven't changed at all," Mamimi said, kneeling down and helping him. "It's selfish, I know, but it makes me feel relieved."

Blankly staring at her, puzzled, the robot watched her bend and crawl away in her miniskirt, huffing and struggling to reach underneath the TV cabinet. Just as he became aware of what he was staring at, a pair of boxers were thrown over his reddening screen.

"Ah. I missed." Mamimi said.

In the night, just the two of them sat on the front porch. Briefly, Naota's grandfather opened his nearby door, only a crack, and glared out. "Hmph," he sniffled, shutting the door once more.

Ignoring him, Mamimi gulped her drink and pulled away to breathe. "I flew back here," she said. "And now I don't know why. It feels like a waste." She shook the can. "But maybe... these are a good reason." She crushed the red can and looked up. "Yeah. They don't have these drinks over there."

Listening closely, Canti turned his screen and looked at her. For some reason, he was suddenly wearing a brown bomber jacket with gold stars on the epaulets. Maybe he had worn it to impress her.

"I needed a really good picture," Mamimi explained suddenly. "To enter in that contest that got my career going. A tribute. I thought I could use Naota again, and this scenery, but."

Whirring his head, Canti looked up at the sky and then back at her. This girl, now a woman, had fuller lips, though they still pouted and shined the same as always.

During all these years, while he had stayed here, living honestly, what had she been off doing? Did she ever think about him from time to time?

He stared down. Well of course not. No matter how honestly he lived, he couldn't change the fact that even if he was a nice guy, he was still just a robot.

"I really wanted to see Naota again," Mamimi went on. "I wonder how tall he's gotten? Probably really tall. And I wonder how he looks? I guess I could ask for pictures, but it's not the same."

Canti stood up, towering over her. He was tall, too– couldn't she see?

"You going somewhere, Lord Canti?" she regarded him. "Can I go with you?"

Holding out his hand, she took it, standing up. Wrapping her arms around his, and standing on his feet, the air swirled beneath them, disturbing dust and the bits of leaves on the porch. Hovering, they lifted up and into the sky. He held onto her tightly.

It didn't make sense for a robot to feel like this, and honestly, it was really dumb. Robots don't feel jealousy or miss people. Their functions are simple and they just do chores and pretend– that's all they're good for. But maybe, Canti wondered, that's a more human trait than previously believed.

"This," Mamimi managed out, the wind stuffing her mouth full of hair; "is also a good enough reason, I think."

Though they didn't say anything more to each other, they knew exactly where they wanted to go. Flying over the grid-like town, they drifted all night together and then ascended, dropping onto the grassy embankment of the burnt down schoolhouse.

Creating a flattened circle in the grass, they landed, and with a teetering stance, Mamimi stepped off. Pulling a barbecue lighter from her bag, she ignited and held it forward. "This all is still the same, too." Turning around, she reached into her camera bag and threw a large and very expensive camera at Canti. "Be my cameraman, okay?" She turned away.

Fumbling, he let the camera accidentally slip through his hands. Diving and sliding, though, he caught and saved it. Relieved, his screen displayed an empty white speech bubble– a deep sigh.

"The light's breaking. In only eight minutes, the sun will rise," Mamimi exclaimed, climbing atop a burnt timber. "You'd think that this is a symbolic number, but many numbers are symbolic, including one, two, three, four, six, and seven. Five doesn't seem to be as much, though. But there's five fingers on our hands and toes– and it's been five years since I left here." Bending down, she reached into her messenger bag and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. "I've always been called 'useless', 'stupid' and 'no good', so I believed it." She lighted each cigarette, and stuck them into the dirt all around, like many burning embers. "You probably wouldn't believe it, but I used to really hurt people. It was because that was the only way for me to get respect." Reaching into her bag once again, she pulled out a long white bandage and stood back up on the timber. "When I stopped doing all those foolish things, though, I wasn't cool anymore. I became the gang's next target and everyone at school still avoided me. I changed but everyone stayed the same. And when I didn't fight back, I became subhuman. Just because I didn't want to hurt anyone anymore."

Canti stopped only a little ways away, holding the camera in hand. Raising it up, just as the dawn broke, he tilted it her way. Though they didn't need to say anything more to each other, they knew exactly when to take the photo. Mamimi, standing on a burnt timber, contrasted with the burning cigarettes and the dawn's breaking light.

Together, they sat under the bridge by the river that morning, and as the sunlight matured, Mamimi rested in Canti's lap. "It felt good to tell all that to another person," she said, closing her eyes. "We should do this more often, right? 'Cause if you have anything to tell me, I'll listen. We have all summer." She turned and kissed him on his TV grill.


	2. Like a Lovesong

"Where were you, huh, TV Boy?" Kamon accused, watching as Canti wiped his feet off at the door with a towel. Mamimi set her loafers against the wall and strolled down the hall, almost as if she belonged there.

"Out all night with your nubile young girlfriend, were we? And after leaving your employer to fend for himself! You have a lot of nerve, don't you? To walk back into his life without bringing anyone for him," the middle-aged man criticized, following the robot as he marched into the kitchen; "I already fixed breakfast, you know what it was? Canned bread. I almost choked on the PVC figurine cleverly encased in the middle."

Ignoring his employer, Canti swept a colorful can off the counter and into the garbage bin.

"No, don't just throw that away!" Kamon blasted. "That's a collector's item! At least save the label–"

Mamimi walked into the kitchen, blankly watching as the man and robot fought over garbage.

"Lord Canti," Mamimi said. "Can I use your room? For developing?"

Turning around to face her, Canti nodded, brushing back his employer and following her.

"Developing?" Kamon exclaimed; "Just one date and you're already so far..." Holding his head, he wailed and agonized, rolling back and forth on the kitchen floor, all before losing interest and leaning out the window-sill, scrubbing it with a cloth-wrapped pencil.

* * *

><p>"Haven't come out of the closet yet, huh?" Mamimi said, climbing up with him. Cramped in the small pocket, she pushed against him, chest against metal. "Since Naota is gone, you should just take over his bed. It's true. I think you deserve it."<p>

Canti looked away, embarrassed by how close they were in such a dark space. He was also agitated by her absurd suggestion. A robot didn't need a bed! And he didn't want to take too much. Living honestly was important.

"You shouldn't worry so much about being too selfish." She turned and dug through her bag, pulling out a red light and slapping it on the narrow wall. "Always take what you want. That's how you find pleasure."

The closet door closed and chemicals poured. Mamimi moved under the red light, shuffling with papers, pans, and tools. All the while, Canti watched her, his screen turning red and shining more safe light on her back. Somehow, the girl managed to produce and string up pictures in the small space. It should have been impossible.

"Enter the contest instead," Mamimi said, not bothered at all by the strong smell. "You took that picture, after all. If you win, hire a maid for Naota's dad and stay with me. The prize money is a lot."

Canti's screen remained fixed on her. It seemed that she had stopped calling Naota 'Ta-kun' for good.

"Hey," Mamimi's voice softened. "Go out with me."

Go out where? She couldn't have meant THAT. Canti sweated, despite the fact that robots can't sweat.

Who wrote this crap?

"Was that too forward? I guess it is weird. But in this modern age, it's ok for girls to ask first. Let me know if you change your mind. We can just be friends until then."

If they were now just friends, what were they before? The uncertainty was overloading his processes and overwriting things. Amid the crisis, however, his thin, metal rail of a waist expanded and he gained a little weight.

"Huh?" Mamimi looked around, puzzled. "Suddenly, it feels like there's a lot less room in here."

Panicked, Canti pushed all the way back, trying to get as far away from her as possible. What was happening to him? All he knew what that it was incredibly embarrassing.

"I'm going to my summer home now. But let's see a movie tonight. Pick me up at five, and don't be late."

* * *

><p>"TV boy, are you putting on weight?" Kamon badgered, looking the robot up and down. "It's true, isn't it? Huh, huh? Love makes you fat." He let out a triumphant laugh.<p>

Shamefaced, Canti turned away, self-conciously feeling his thickened waistline. Maybe he could hide it.

Standing before the bathroom mirror, he tried on a black, double-breasted long coat, which looked good and all, but seemed lacking. Worriedly, he felt at the top of his bare metal noggin. Wasn't he bald? He put on a short brown wig to correct this.

"Smart move," Kamon commented, passing by the open bathroom door. "Got a hot date tonight, right? Women love men with hair."

A date? Wasn't there some sort of procedure for dating? Alarmed, Canti left the house an hour early, just to be sure, and he stopped by a florist's along the way.

No one asked the malfunctioning robot why he was buying only one red rose, but the truth was, he was just that broke. Badum-tish.

At exactly five o'clock, Canti flew down to the bridge by the river– his fingers locked carefully around the rose's stem. The grass and reeds flattened around him as he landed, and when he walked up to Mamimi, he silently held the flower out.

"One." Mamimi's lips moved. "Roses have meanings, based on color and number. This means you love me, right?"

Canti's screen filled with blush and he nodded, even though he hadn't planned this. Since he couldn't say anything, anyway, it was best to grab onto any words that were spoken for him. Being a robot was just that troublesome.

"Then show me," Mamimi said, closing her eyes. Tilting back her head, she puckered her lips up for a smooch.

Canti didn't have any lips, just a metal grill below his screen. Sometimes, he'd pour soups and mushy foods through it, just to see what it was like. Rubbing the back of his neck, he nervously leaned down and pressed that metal grill against her lips.

How was kissing such big of a deal? Just that morning had his first kiss been taken by her– just as it nearly had almost five years before.

But there was something surprisingly satisfying about managing it himself this time. Feeling a surge of electricity from the touch as well, the input hummed in his chest and downwards. His waist grew. AGAIN.

"Let's go," Mamimi said, grabbing his arm. Holding on, they flew off into the sky together, his propulsion system disturbing the air like a sidewalk heat wave. When Canti wasn't looking, Mamimi threw off his short brown wig. She thought it didn't suit him at all.


	3. She is Perfect

Walking down the steps from the movie theater, Mamimi stopped and stayed behind. "Wait," she said to Canti's back. Slowly, the robot turned his screen around and she kissed him.

"When I'm standing on the steps above," she explained; "It's easier to reach you. Since you're sort of tall."

His screen turned red and he looked away, bashfully rubbing the back of his neck. Why did she do these kinds of things in public? It was embarrassing, but he couldn't help but feel a little happy.

Rushing down the steps after him, Mamimi grabbed his hand, interlocking her fingers with his– even though it was extremely difficult. His fingers were five times the size of hers, so she really had to struggle. Grunting, her fingers made a popping noise and she managed.

Canti couldn't help but feel a little worried.

But still, they were holding hands, and in the interlocked way– just like lovers. Looking down at her, Canti got lost in this exciting revelation; everyone on the street was looking at them. Being thoroughly inexperienced with holding hands, though, he made the first mistake of not paying attention to where he was going. He walked into a pole. It screeched and dented to the shape of his head and torso. So a robot walks into a bar.

"Lord Canti, are you ok?" Mamimi asked, worriedly grabbing his left arm as he rubbed his screen with his right. Recovering quickly, he nodded and they walked on.

"How was it? It was a kid's movie, but one comes out every summer," Mamimi said, suddenly talkative. "I used to always go, but not lately." She hugged his arm and gazed up at him. "They make me feel good inside, like tea in the wintertime, or drying off at the beach when it's hot... but then I'm hungry for anpan afterwards."

Canti stayed very still, listening carefully to all this. He had once read that it was important to listen to one's girlfriend– to impress her by recalling facts later. Did she want to eat anpan now? Without saying anything else, he picked her up and they flew up from the street, never minding the puzzled stares from the onlookers below.

Back at the Nandaba bakery, Canti kneaded dough and stirred read bean paste, creating a gigantic anpan bun for Mamimi. It was the least he could do when he barely had enough money to pay for his own movie ticket.

"You've gotten even better at baking," Mamimi mumbled between bites. "I can taste love."

Canti gazed up at her. He forced an entire slice of anpan through his grill and he suddenly gained a lot of weight.

That night, Mamimi helped him wash dishes before leaving out the door. "I'll come back and eat more anpan tomorrow," she said, slipping on her loafers. "Oh. And I'm fine with sharing it. You should even give some to the old man." She kissed the robot once more and closed the door. How many kisses was that? Counting the one that happened during the movie, that was the fifth one.

A lazy figure stumbled down the hall behind him. "Tch," Kamon grumbled; "Dumb robot."

* * *

><p>"Hmm," Shigekuni muttered, sampling a piece of anpan. Frowning steadily, he chewed slowly and took his time gulping before finally paying a compliment. "Your shit cooking has improved. Good job."<p>

Canti looked up energetically, displaying a bright yellow exclamation mark on his screen.

"Yeah, it's not bad, TV boy. You've almost mastered the baker's technique," Kamon remarked, holding his plate up for more.

"What would you know? You don't know anything about bread." The old man slumped down on the table. "Just like you don't know anything about baseball."

"What are you talking about? I know ALL about the legendary Solar Hands," Kamon argued, raising his fingers to the ceiling; "And I also support the local girl's baseball team–"

Canti began clearing the table, only to be stopped by the old man. "I'll tell you now, that girl is no good," he said, grabbing the robot's arm. "Always violent, swinging a bat around the wrong way, and getting into fights." The old man irritatedly glanced away. "And she broke both Tasaku's arms. The therapy in America was just so he could play baseball again..."

Was he talking about Mamimi?

Bumping his head on the top bunk, Canti sat on the edge of Naota's empty bed. It creaked uneasily, just like the words of Naota's grandfather. Was he really talking about Mamimi when he had said all that? It sounded like he was speaking about an entirely different person.

Laying down, Canti hung off the mattress. It couldn't be helped. The bed was just too short for him. Looking down at the ground, though, he observed the dark cave beneath the bed and saw something metallic.

The next morning, Canti went to see Mamimi under the shady bridge. As expected, she was there, with her feet drifting in the water and her fingers typing on a mini-laptop. He felt slightly jealous about that.

"The wifi dropped," Mamimi mused, suddenly looking up at him. "You're kind of like a microwave."

He stood over her, blankly staring down.

"Why'd you come here to my summer home, anyways?" she asked. "I was coming back. Didn't you trust me?"

Canti dropped a metal bat beside her. It was the thing that he had found under the bed last night.

"Ah." She took out a cigarette. "So you found out about that." Lighting it, the cigarette's paper burned down between her lips. "That I almost stole Tasuku's dream. In middle school. I became banchou. A leader among the weak. Acting out, they wanted the town. Overflowing, I wanted to burn it. To be saved by him again, just like the first time."

Banchou? A gang leader?

"When he got hurt because of me, I said I'd never fight again." Mamimi pulled her feet from the water. Packing her laptop away, she stood up. "I moved on, but no one followed me. For the longest time, I couldn't forgive them and they couldn't forgive me. How could anyone?" Walking away, she crawled up the weedy hill, leaving Canti behind just like the question she had posed. When her back disappeared beyond the raised road, and only smoke was left, he sprung after her.

He wasn't sure what she was going on about, but it didn't matter. Even if he was just a dumb robot, he had already fallen in love.


End file.
